Tag Archives: real estate

August 15, 1966

This news story from the Hattiesburg American on Monday, August 15, 1966, Page 14, provides a nice summary of what was really going on when Walter and his brother Revah were digging a “well” on the Mississippi property in 1932. It wasn’t a well. Revah believed there was buried treasure on the family farm, and he had enlisted Walter’s aid to help dig for it. I didn’t explain this when I posted those letters because I wanted to wait until we got to this newspaper article.

If you do an internet search for “Franklin County Gold Hole,” you’ll get lots of wild speculation about what’s buried on my family’s land. Of course this is absurd, but that hasn’t stopped all manner of delusional folks from digging there, with or without permission.

In case any erstwhile treasure-seekers have landed on this page, I’ll reiterate what we’ve been telling these people for the past forty years: there’s no treasure buried there, and there never was. Jean Lafitte never passed anywhere nearby, nor did outlaws choose a random spot deep in the woods with no major landmarks to build some kind of robber’s 401(k) plan. The current generation of landowners is also disinclined to let anyone make the artificial lake on the property any bigger, so keep out.

August 15, 1966

July 24, 1961

These receipts are part of Ina’s effort to sell off the cattle from the Dove family farm in Mississippi, which she and Walter had inherited. Ina later gave the land to her three sons, who finished switching the property from cattle ranching and mixed farming to tree farming for lumber and paper pulp. It remains a sustainable tree farm; proceeds from it have helped put three generations of Doves through college.

July 24, 1961

June 3, 1942

Stationery from the Bellevue Hotel, Washington, DC.

Wed. 8 PM.

My dear Sweetheart,

The train was almost two hours late and it took about that much time to get breakfast. Had to wait in line at the diner for more than 30 min. When I reported at Dr. Annand’s office about 11:30 he was in conference, so I did not see him until after lunch.

June 3, 1942

On the 6th floor Mr. Stage greeted me as “boss,” and Miss Lynch offered congratulations. My room was spick and span with a bouquet of roses which Miss Lynch brought from her home. During the PM most everyone seemed to have the news, which was announced by Dr. Annand last Saturday morning to the division Chiefs’ meeting.

Cushing looks just fine as a Major and he joined me in a conference with Dr. Annand. This had to do with Army & Bureau services, also use of other entomologists in the Army. Saw Rohner and Hoyt in the hall and they were most cordial. Dr. B. came in at 5:30 and welcomed me to the city. This was in the presence of Claudelle. Claudelle and I ate dinner together and she went to Clarendon on a bus. She had parked her car there. Tomorrow she is going to drive in and I will go out there tomorrow night. She is helping find me a house for us, but has no encouragement so far. She asks if we want to buy a place. I’ll see Cushings, but I understand from C. that Deniza wants $100 per month for her place furnished. They can sell OK if they want to. Annand is building a new home and his may be available. I may inquire about it.

Tomorrow morning I have a session in regard to a chemist. Mr. Jones is to meet me and Dr. Haller at Dr. B’s office at 9 AM. If Jones comes to Orlando he will need a house & we may get him to take ours. If he has a suitable one here, we may be interested in it. I’ll inquire, if this is in line with a move for him. If this develops, you may be moving earlier than you had anticipated. I have not had time enough to determine if it will be necessary to make a trip soon. I’ll need several days to get oriented here.

Under the present conditions I think you will like Wash. C has a secret. Please keep to yourself (next Dec.) She looks fine & has a little tan. She is over joyed at our moving here. B.M. is in Gulfport for about a week.

With love
Walter.

P.S. I am writing Mr. Knipling.

March 11, 1942

Wednesday Night.

We did get the house OK and the address is 712 Woodward St. We did not get the exhibit building for the Lab overflow, but I think we can get other lab quarters about four blocks from the office. Mr. Glass came Monday and Mr. A.L. Smith reported today. I have been sleeping at the Bushlands, also eating breakfast and Dinner. The water is on at our house & the gas heater has been connected. Lights & gas will be on soon.

With love
Walter.

March 11, 1942

February 16, 1938

My dear Sweetheart,

I am enclosing the annuity contract with a receipt of the Mass. Mutual that monthly payments to July 20 are charged to the loan. The difference between $1500 & $1790.01 equals the $50 monthly payments less interest. Payments made between now and July 20 apply on the principal. I am enclosing a yellow envelope which gives the agent’s address at Savannah (H H Wilson). I think we should send $100 per month and mark the checks Reduction of Loan on A2620.

February 16, 1938

The papering is being done at the Dallas house this month and the check from Mr. Chamberlain will be a small one. The check for the 1st payment on the Savannah house was to have been made to you by Mr. George McDonnel so you could deposit it. By this time you have received it, no doubt. I am enclosing the cancellation by Mrs. Nellie Adams which should be kept with our deed in the safety box. Could you replace them in the box also put the Kehoe notes in there for protection.

Enclosed are two old receipts from the Mass Mutual which I had in my bag. Also deposit slips for Lewis Dunbar & Walter White for Nov. 3, 1936. They show the total amounts of the accounts at that time. Please place them in their pass books.

I presume Mr. Townsend sent my check to Minneapolis, West Hotel as I gave this as the address. I have enough money to get to Mpls but for safety I’ll cash a check here on the San Antonio Bank for $50 tomorrow. Am planning to leave tomorrow night for Mpls with Mr. Gaddis. Mr. Andrews will leave about tomorrow too. The authority for 500 thousand to run until July 1 was given today and I started on grasshopper payroll today. Mr. Townsend also started on that payroll today. He and RA will be ready to leave the latter part of this week & will meet Gaddis and me at Salt Lake City. I’ll return by Arizona, N. Mex., get a Studebaker at San Antonio & return to Mpls by College Sta., Texas, Oklahoma A&M & other state colleges en route to Mpls.

Please send a monthly check of $29.15 to Southland Mortgage Col, Gulf States Bldg., Dallas & mark it 3010 Kirmine St. &c.

Will make out expense accounts & income tax at Mpls.

This work is going to be one big rush with shipments of hundreds of cars of poisoned bait into 24 Western states. There are to be about 110 field men & about 10 in the office at Mpls. The season is short for g-hoppers and we are going to be rushed. Think it best to wait until after the rush is over before moving to Mpls. By that time I can tell more about the permanency of that program for me.

Strong will go to the Houston meetings on the 24th & will drive one of the Studebakers from San Antonio.

Claudelle is to be here soon & hope she gets here before I leave tomorrow.

I tried to find the slides showing C.E. larvae in the skin but I am not sure that they are in the dozen boxes of slides I found. Spent about 2 hours looking tonight & will ask Dr. B to send all of them to Dr. K.S.

The Cushings are leaving here Sat. for Texas East meetings at Houston & will see you at San Antonio. I spent 2 nights with them here. Pauline is over her operation & I ate dinner with them Sunday. Dave cooked chicken & dumplings and did a good job of it. I had dinner with the Bishopps one evening.

With lots of love and looking forward to reaching San Antonio.

Your
Walter.

Don’t worry about Evalyn. I have no idea I’ll stop at any places in the Dakotas except Brookings S.D. & Fargo N.D. at the college. I’ll bet she is short & fat like her ma.

W.E.D.

February 7, 1938

Stationery from the law offices of Lawton and Cunningham, Savannah, GA. I believe Walter and Ina held onto their house in Savannah and rented a place in San Antonio when they moved. Now they’re selling the house in Savannah, as Walter’s new job in grasshopper control won’t be based in either of those cities.

Savannah February 7, 1938

My dear Ina,

Enclosed find Deed already signed and notarized by me. You should go to a notary and with one other witness & execute it in the place indicated for your signature. Be sure to get seal. There is a lady notary on N. Flores about 2 blocks from your house where you and I went. Then mail the deed to Mr. George O’Donnell of above address. The 180 notes @ 37.17 and Debt Deed have been examined and are in good shape according to Mr. O’Donnell & as far as I am able to tell. The insurance check had already been received when I called at the bank this A.M. Having lunch with John Sarah & R.A. tonight. Leaving 8 PM – arriving Wash. at 11:30 AM tomorrow. Check, notes, & Debt Deed will be mailed to you from here, together with statement of adjusted differences on taxes, ins. etc.

With love
Walter.

February 6, 1938

July 16, 1936

Thursday PM

My dear Ina,

The R.R. Company telephoned that our household goods are expected to arrive San Antonio tomorrow night. I think we have 48 hours before demurrage starts. We could have the storage company to haul to storage and hold until we wanted it moved into a house. I think we would have to pay for hauling from the storage when it was moved into a house.

July 16, 1936

As yet I have not located a house which would be suitable. I just phoned regarding one that you saw on Fulton Street when Mother Lewis was with us and it is rented. The other one I do not know about. They did not answer the phone. Will try again tomorrow.

I figure that we have until Tuesday noon to unload the furniture. This means we should find a place Monday. Will see you Saturday night.

With love
Walter.

April 15, 1936 (Ina)

Tuesday Night.
April 15, 1936.

Dearest Sweetheart:

I am enclosing some mail I thought you would be interested in.

Your wife and sons have not forgotten your birthday. When you come home there will be a small gift for you. We might even sing “Happy Birthday to You.”

April 15, 1936 (Ina)

We started looking for you last Saturday and didn’t give up until your card came Monday afternoon. We were very much disappointed that you could not be home for Easter. We did not go anywhere until that afternoon about 5 o’clock when we went to Forsyth Park and saw people shivering in their thin Easter costumes. Walter White hid Lewis Dunbar’s Easter toys Saturday night. However, when he awoke before six Sunday morning he rushed to find Lewis Dunbar’s toys and bring them to the baby’s bed. He couldn’t wait. He wanted to go to bed early Saturday afternoon so I could hide his eggs. I talked him out of that. This afternoon he went to an Easter hunt (better late than never!) given to a crowd of children by Mr. Orsini and the 49th St. druggist. He didn’t find any eggs though. Don’t say that he was waiting for me to find them and put them in his pockets! The hunt was for advertising purposes.

Yesterday afternoon Sara and a Mrs. McArthur called on us. Sara invited me to a bridge party at her house next Friday afternoon. She said John looked up the regulations on shipping furniture and found that the government will not pay the charges unless a man is assigned to the new station for a period of at least a year and a half. So far as you know, you will be in San Antonio only one year. What shall we do?

I haven’t listed our house with a real estate agent yet, hoping that you would come home some time so we could decide which one we want to handle it. If we can’t ship our furniture we should keep a house to put it in, shouldn’t we ? I telephoned Mr. Rowland after receiving your card and he said there would be a charge of $15.00 for drawing up the papers if he renewed the loan and, since Mrs. Adams is ill in a hospital in Richmond, Va., he would have no authority to lower the rate of interest. I then called the Citizens & Southern. I have explained their terms to you. It looks as if we would not only save about $10.00 by giving them the loan but would have the privilege of paying it up at any time we wish, getting credits for the interest we would have paid had we allowed it to run longer. I asked about that because I thought we might sell to someone that would want to place the loan elsewhere at perhaps a lower rate of interest. Mr. Kline (I believe that is his name), of the Citizens & Southern, said that our arrangement with them would not interfere with a sale in any way whatsoever except, of course, anyone assuming the notes would have to be acceptable to the bank. He said he would get in touch with Mr. Rowland, and I telephoned Mr. Rowland to that effect. Mr. Kline said he would call me when he was ready for me to come down town; he was sure the transaction could not be completed in a day but Mr. R. could continue to hold the loan until it was completed.

Walter White is snoring so loudly – just like his mother! I’m sleepy too.

We love you lots, Honey, and hope to see you soon.

Always, your
Ina.

April 12, 1936

Easter.

With a lot of help from Mr. Townsend I am leaving this noon with figures for Washington. Do not expect to be there more than one or two days but of course one can never tell how long. Mr. Townsend will send my check to Box 22. I drew a check yesterday $25. On renewal of house suggest you phone Mr. Rowland and ask what charges would be. If more, it would be cheaper at 7% & I think we should keep with him one year. If there is renewal expense the C&S for 3 years is OK.

April 12, 1936

December 8, 1930

Box 208 – Monday Night.

My dear Sweetheart,

Yours of Saturday AM was received this AM. It is fine that W.W. is getting along OK. Hope he keeps up the good work.

Today Shelmire brought another infected pig by for the mites. Have just finished feeding the mites on this animal. The latter animal is in the early stages of the disease and should have more organisms in the blood stream. Animals inoculated from the other pig, which was convalescing, have not yet shown symptoms. It is a little early. This is the end of the 4th day for them.

December 8, 1930

This PM I called on the Southland re: the first lien. They are not in position to handle any more, but he sent me to another insurance Co. They are investingating and will let me know right away. They had not made any loans in Owenwood and were going out to take a look. More about this later.

I am enclosing a letter received from Dr. White. It runs true to form.

With lots of love, I am

Your
Walter.